Been a busy few days, days that I hoped would include cutting hay. But a trip out of town and a short three day window for cutting, curing and baling left me deciding to postpone. So, we’ve turned our attention to smaller tasks.
The author Simon Fairlie, in his excellent work Meat: a benign extravagance, makes a brief tantalizing reference to the Japanese method of fermenting their pig slops. I couldn’t find anything else on the subject. But armed with my imagination, a fair understanding of The Art of Fermentation, (an essential work by Sandor Katz) and a fifty-gallon plastic garbage can, I went to work.
I drilled a quarter-inch hole in the top of the garbage can lid and inserted a fermentation lock with a gasket. A friend had come over last Saturday and used our cider press. In payment for the use he left me with fifty pounds of pressed apple “cake”. I added the “cake” to the can, alternating with hundred pounds of hog meal. This mix was finished off with a ½ cup of kosher salt and enough water to just cover the meal. It was then covered and left to ferment for five days.
Our latest crop of pigs, of which we only have three, have been a bit stand-offish. They have grown slowly and showed little interest in feed. Let me tell you this new feed system has made all the difference. The first day they caught wind of the sweet fermented smell and came running. They have doubled their daily intake of feed. The first pictures are of the fermentation system and the next of some happy pigs.
Earlier this summer I had been reading an “idea” opener of a book, The Market Gardener by Jean-Martin Fortier. He uses a tarp system on his gardens to suppress weeds. It is quite simple and effective. I tried it out on two garden areas. The pictures below show the dramatic change.
This garden had been used to raise greens and turnips last winter. Since that time I have over sown it with seven-top turnips twice, cutting down the greens before they developed seeds. After the second cutting I covered the area with a 30’x50’ hay tarp and left it for four weeks. After uncovering and tilling lightly, the area was planted in turnips, kale, rutabagas and lettuce.
Tarp
Uncovering garden
Tilling
Well amended soil
A daily harvest
These late summer days are also focused on domestic harvest and preservation. We have been making jelly, chutney and wine most weekends and canning tomatoes. Today we will do more of the same. But we will also fire up the smoker and dry the Anaheim and jalapeno peppers.
That is all from the farm this week.
I love the picture of the pigs literally crawling into their feed trough to get at the fermented goodness!
I am intrigued by your experience with the “tarp system” and wonder if it just might resolve some issues we are having establishing our new gardens here in North Carolina. I find so many gardening books are written for the northern climate and the methods just don’t work the same in the south. How is a “hay tarp” different from just a plastic tarp from Home Depot?
Do you recommend “The Market Gardener” … as in, is it worth spending the money for since it’s not available in our library?
Feeding pigs is lot like putting on a good dinner for loved ones. We get a lot of delight from watching them clean their plates (or trough).
Although the book by Fortier is quite interesting, he farms in Quebec, it is geared to the intensive market gardener. So unless you are considering that as a business I’d suggest passing on the purchase. But don’t forget that your local library does an inter-library loan for free.
We’ve used carpets and tarps off and on over the years. But this was the first time we used it for this period of time and with the goal of replanting. Based on my limited experience I’d suggest it is worth trying. He recommends a black silage tarp 6mm. These should be available at your local farmer’s co-op there in North Carolina.
I’m with you on the dearth of gardening books for the Southern gardener. I like to think it is because more people garden per capita in the South than anywhere else in the country. Who needs books on the subject when you have your grandmother or neighbor to consult?
Thanks for the note. I checked out your latest blog offering this morning. You have been busy with the preserving! I love the idea of the watermelon. I’ll have to give that a try.
Cheers,
Brian